Don't dangle those modifiers!! (& other tips for effective academic English) ....
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In a series of posts within posts, our friends at Virtus Publishing will provide tips and advice covering many aspects of publishing. This next series will be an ongoing selection of language tips, covering areas that many copy editors (and authors) find difficult. These will be short and to the point.
Virtus Publishing Language Tip #10: Dangling Modifiers
Years ago a copy editor submitted a question to me because he was baffled by the following sentence:
John struck a man with an umbrella.
The copy editor wondered whether this meant that John used an umbrella to strike a man or that John struck (with an unspecified tool/weapon) a man who had an umbrella with him.
I thought that this was a great question, which concerns an area that many authors (and even editors) have difficulties with, including native speakers: dangling modifiers.
A dangling modifier (or participle) refers to an unclear grammatical construction where an adjective (or modifier) can be misread to imply association with the wrong word (or no word at all).
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of the English Language includes a classic example I’ve seen cited many times:
Turning the corner, a handsome school building appeared.
Although the intention is to describe the action of the speaker (who is turning the corner), read literally the sentence implies that the handsome building is turning the corner. A sentence such as this would have to be rewritten to make sense:
As I turned the corner, a handsome school building appeared.
or
As he turned the corner, a handsome school building appeared.
An invaluable resource to any editor is The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White (it’s usually just referred to as “Strunk and White”). It’s a really short, concise book I recommend highly.
They include the following rule plus some examples concerning this issue on page 13. As always, the end of the quoted material is denoted by the box (∎):
From Strunk and White:
11. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject.
Walking slowly down the road, he saw a woman accompanied by two children.
The word walking refers to the subject of the sentence, not to the woman. To make it refer to the woman, the writer must recast the sentence.
He saw a woman, accompanied by two children, walking slowly down the road.
∎
They go on to include two truly ridiculous examples to illustrate what can happen when a writer violates this rule.
From Strunk and White:
Being in a dilapidated condition, I was able to buy the house very cheap.
∎
As written, this means that the speaker is in dilapidated condition. To correct this one might rewrite the sentence like this:
I was able to buy the house very cheap since it was in dilapidated condition.
Here’s another.
From Strunk and White:
Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve.
∎
Taken literally, this sentence says that the clock is doing the wondering. What is actually meant is something like this:
As the clock struck twelve I wondered irresolutely what to do next.
My favorite example, which I’ve seen many times, is this one.
From Strunk and White:
I saw the trailer peeking through the window.
∎
Obviously, the speaker is doing the “peeking,” not the trailer. But the position of the clause “peeking through the window” makes is seem like the trailer is doing the “peeking.” The easiest fix for this would be to rewrite the sentence like this:
Peeking through the window, I saw the trailer.
From the standpoint of either an author or editor, the best way to resolve this issue is to review what you have written or edited. I always use the “sleep on it” method: If time permits, don’t submit what you’ve written the same day. The next day you will have a new perspective and a fresh outlook: You will spot potential issues much more readily.
Pay close attention not only to word choice, but to word order (called syntax). The order in which words are placed can drastically alter the intended meaning. (And don’t rely too heavily on AI to catch problems because an understanding of the context is required.)
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